Extreme Recycling

Extreme Recycling: take this Portlanders – every bit of garbage goes in a clear plastic bag with your name on it to be reviewed by the garbage patrols. Caps removed; plastic rims removed from bottle necks; separate aluminum from steel; clean everything; flatten milk cartons; burnables on Tuesday; recyclables on Wednesday between 7-8 am in 14 different bins; batteries and light bulbs on Thursdays in 8 different bins, broken dishes in the orange carton, old pans in the red carton…there is a 6-page pamphlet explaining the details of the garbage process. Half the people here end up burning it all in their incinerators or burying it in a hole just because they can’t figure out what to do. I was sent home by the garbage Gestapo to clean out two glass jars that weren’t clean enough to throw away. “Do it right or don’t come back!” If you are too early or too late, your garbage will be returned. On my soul, Japan is going to save the earth.